Raymond G. Taylor
Bio
Author living in Kent, England. Writer of short stories and poems in a wide range of genres, forms and styles. A non-fiction writer for 40+ years. Subjects include art, history, science, business, law, and the human condition.
Stories (621)
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The painting speaks
Would you want to read a book that had this painting as its cover? Neither would I. So it's just as well that the publishers put a photo of Mark Rylance on the cover instead. No more pretty than the Cromwell he played in the TV series, Wolf Hall, but he at least looks more human. Earlier versions of the book the series is based on had a graphic depiction of the Tudor rose for a cover... BORIIIING!!! Covers aside, I am pretty certain that when author Hilary Mantel (1952-2022) researched the book, she spent some time in the National Portrait Gallery in London, looking at this painting and thinking about the man behind the turn-to-stone look. Particularly when it comes to the part of the book where the painting by Hans Holbein is delivered to Cromwell's family home.
By Raymond G. Taylor7 months ago in Writers
Cry shark
My first day as a lifeguard started with a crowded beach, a rip current, and then someone yelled, “Shark!” There were three of us on duty that day, as the tides were at their worst and we had a red flag flying. No swimming, no sailboarding, nothing afloat in the water until the current subsided. Typically, there was one Guy who just had to ignore the warnings and, from where I was standing, appeared to be flapping around in the water, possibly in trouble. Not only that, I was also the only guard near the waterline. Cassie was at the observation platform and Brad, my minder for the day, had just gone off to the restroom.
By Raymond G. Taylor7 months ago in Fiction
